A4 Suspension
& Steering

Diagnostic Practice — Test 2
ASE-style · 25 Q
Question 01 / 25
Answered 00 / 25
Status IN PROGRESS
Q 01Data-Driven

Front toe and camber are within specification. Toe-out-on-turns readings are shown below. Which of these is the cause?

WheelSpecActual
Outer wheel (turned)20.0°20.0°
Inner wheel22.5° ±1.5°19.4°
Q 02Component Function

A front subframe (cradle) is used to:

Q 03Tech A/B

Technician A says a worn steering shaft U-joint can produce a clunk felt in the steering wheel. Technician B says steering column noise is corrected by adjusting sector lash. Who is right?

Q 04Data-Driven

A vehicle was aligned after front collision repair. Front wheelbase setback measures 0.6 inch with the right wheel rearward. Maximum specification is 0.25 inch. Which of these should be checked?

Q 05Least Likely / EXCEPT

Which of these is the LEAST likely cause of overheated power steering fluid?

Q 06Most Likely

A growling noise from the rear increases with vehicle speed and does not change when the vehicle coasts in neutral. What is the MOST likely cause?

Q 07Tech A/B

Technician A says worm bearing preload on a recirculating ball gear is measured with the pitman arm disconnected. Technician B says sector lash is checked with the gear at its center position. Who is right?

Q 08Procedure/Tool

On a MacPherson strut suspension with an eccentric cam bolt at the strut-to-knuckle joint, camber is adjusted by:

Q 09Data-Driven

Front ride height on a torsion bar suspension measures 0.9 inch low on the left and correct on the right. Specification is ±0.25 inch. The technician should:

Q 10Least Likely / EXCEPT

Any of these could cause inner edge wear on both rear tires EXCEPT:

Q 11Component Function

A steering linkage damper is used to:

Q 12Scenario-Based

A binding noise and a snapping sensation occur when the steering wheel is turned with the vehicle parked. Front alignment angles are correct. Which of these could be the cause?

Q 13Tech A/B

Technician A says air suspension air springs are refilled with shop air during service. Technician B says the system should be disabled before the vehicle is raised on a lift. Who is right?

Q 14Data-Driven

An idler arm moves 0.55 inch vertically under 25 pounds of applied load. Maximum allowable movement is 0.25 inch. The technician should:

Q 15Most Likely

Left front SAI measures 9.2 degrees, right front measures 11.8 degrees, and specification is 11.5 degrees ±1.0. Camber was adjusted into specification. What is the MOST likely cause?

Q 16Procedure/Tool

An airbag-equipped steering wheel is being removed. After the system is disabled, the technician should:

Q 17Least Likely / EXCEPT

Which of these is the LEAST likely cause of a solid rear axle sitting off-center under the vehicle?

Q 18Tech A/B

Technician A says a forward-facing camera may require recalibration after a wheel alignment. Technician B says installing springs that change ride height can affect camera aim. Who is right?

Q 19Scenario-Based

A vehicle pulls right and alignment angles are within specification. Swapping the front tires side to side reverses the pull to the left. Which of these should be done?

Q 20Component Function

Dynamic wheel balancing is performed to:

Q 21Procedure/Tool

A power steering pump pulley is being transferred to a replacement pump. The pulley should be:

Q 22Least Likely / EXCEPT

Which of these is the LEAST likely cause of a creaking noise from a front coil spring?

Q 23Most Likely

A vehicle steers slightly to one side each time the front suspension travels over a bump. Alignment angles are within specification. What is the MOST likely cause?

Q 24Tech A/B

Technician A says a replacement tire may carry a lower load index than the original. Technician B says a lower speed rating is acceptable when tire pressure is increased. Who is right?

Q 25Scenario-Based

A vehicle with speed-sensitive steering has normal effort at parking speeds but very light steering at highway speed. Which of these could be the cause?

Answers and explanations are revealed after you submit the full test.
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0 / 25 CORRECT
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Reading Your Results: A4 Suspension and Steering, Test 2

This test comes at the same content areas from the alignment rack and the linkage rather than the driver's seat. There are more measured readings here, more questions about the electronic systems that ride along with the suspension, and more that turn on knowing which component a symptom belongs to.

If you missed the questions built on a measurement

Four questions on this test give you a reading against a limit. Each one is testing whether you know what that measurement is capable of proving.

Toe-out-on-turns. The inner wheel travels a tighter circle in a turn, so it has to steer to a sharper angle, and that difference is built into the steering arms rather than adjusted. Because nothing about it is adjustable, a reading out of specification means something is bent, which makes it one of the few alignment findings that points directly at collision damage.
Setback. Setback is how far one front wheel sits behind the other, and it is fixed by where the suspension mounting points live in the body. It is not adjustable either, so a measurable setback after collision repair means a mounting point has moved and the camber and caster adjusters will run out of range before they reach specification.
SAI compared side to side. Steering axis inclination is built into the knuckle and the control arm geometry, so it does not change with an adjustment. A side-to-side SAI difference that persists after camber is corrected means the lower pivot points have moved, which usually means a shifted cradle or a bent knuckle rather than a worn part.
Idler arm movement. An idler arm is checked by applying a specified load and measuring vertical movement, because the joint is neither adjustable nor serviceable. Movement past the published limit means replacement, and the number exists to make that call objective rather than by feel.

If you missed the questions about electronic systems

Modern suspension and steering work carries calibration requirements that did not exist a generation ago, and this test leans on them. A forward-facing camera is aimed relative to the vehicle's thrust line and its ride height, so an alignment or a ride height change can require recalibration even though nothing was done to the camera. Air suspension is serviced through the vehicle's own compressor rather than with shop air, and the system is disabled before lifting so it does not fight the height it senses. Speed-sensitive steering reduces assist as road speed rises, so steering that is normal at parking speeds and far too light at highway speed points at the speed input rather than at the pump or the gear.

If you missed the EXCEPT and LEAST likely questions

Four appear on this test, and the method is the same one that works on the real exam. Identify what the three real causes share before you look for the odd one out. On the overheated power steering fluid question, three answers all add restriction or load to the hydraulic circuit, and one adds play without adding load. On the rear axle sitting off-center question, three answers all let the axle move laterally, and one changes ride height without moving it sideways. Naming the shared trait first turns a four-way guess into a single check.

If both free tests are landing comfortably above 70 percent, the premium A4 tests move into harder diagnostic scenarios on a 30-minute clock. They also score you by ASE content area and by question type, and give you the official ASE task number for every question you miss, so you can take those numbers straight to the study guide instead of rereading a chapter.

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